Opportunity Scholarships

RailsConf 2019 is offering a limited number of full conference registration scholarships, open to anyone who would not normally attend, though we specifically encourage students, women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups in the technology sector to apply. The Opportunity Scholarship is a chance to jump in to learn more about Ruby on Rails specifically and software development in general.

Here are some things that are included in the Scholarship program in addition to a free ticket to RailsConf 2019:

Pairing with a Guide, an experienced programmer or conference-goer who has attended RailsConf before and is already familiar with many key players at the conference.

An invitation to a welcome gathering to meet all of your fellow Scholars and the Guides the night before the conference

An instant connection to the other Scholars in your cohort, who are also new to the Rails community

The chance to level up your skills by attending awesome talks throughout the conference and meeting influential people in the community

An invitation to a Slack community for the Scholars and Guides. This is a great place to ask any questions of each other before, during, and even after the conference.

Note: we are delighted to be able to offer a limited amount of financial support for Scholars’ transportation and/or accommodation, due to a generous donation from one of our conference sponsors. This support is provided on a first-come, first-served basis to Scholars who submit their paid actual travel costs for reimbursement. The overall fund is limited, and as such, we cap reimbursements at $500 USD maximum per Scholar.

Also, if it applies to you, we’re pleased to share that RailsConf 2019 offers complimentary childcare and a lactation room for all attendees. Just let us know if you will require this!

Testimonials from Previous Scholars

"For someone new to the industry, attending a conference can be very intimidating. Being assigned a guide beforehand and able to ask all the questions I had helped me feel comfortable and excited going in. I still can’t believe how lucky I was to have this experience at such an early stage in my career. It made me feel even more passion for my newly chosen career path. " - Kazumi Karbowski, Scholar

"Being gifted with the opportunity to meet so many AWESOME people who share my interests and aspirations was a life-changing experience I will never forget!" -Rene Sanchez, Scholar

What are you waiting for?

Scholar applications will be accepted until 11:59pm CST on February 21, 2019 (Please note TIMEZONE).

Be a RailsConf 2019 Guide!

Want to help bring a new community member into the RailsConf 2019 community? We're looking for volunteer Guides to partner up with this year's Opportunity Scholars.

Scholars are folks new to the Ruby/Rails community, or maybe even new to writing code altogether, and they're ready to have their first -- hopefully transformative -- RailsConf experience. They've been telling us the amazing stories of their path to RailsConf, and we genuinely think they're going to be wonderful additions to our community. What we need from you is to help welcome them in and make them feel at home!

Duties:

Be available as a friendly face for your Scholar throughout the whole conference.

Recommend talks for your Scholar to attend based on his or her interests, current skill levels, and experiences.

Make introductions between your Scholar and established developers, especially ones that might be particularly influential in his or her areas of interest.

Give feedback on breaking into the Ruby on Rails world, as your Scholar is likely looking for his or her first Rails gig!

Timing

While Guides are responsible for obtaining their own tickets to RailsConf, we also realize that the deadline for this application may come up before you are ready to commit to attending RailsConf. If you think there is any chance that you’d attend, we’d ask you to apply anyway, even if you might have to withdraw at a later date.

Application Logistics

Please fill out the entire application, as we use what you’ve written here to make the best Scholar/Guide matches that we can, ones that we hope are highly beneficial for both parties. If we don’t have a good sense of who you are and what type of Guide you’d be from your application, it’s difficult to make a good match. We anticipate this application takes 10-15 minutes to complete.

Testimonials from Previous Guides

"The Scholar program is a great way to bring new people into the fold. I've been a programmer for a long time, and I'm still intimidated at times by some people. Being a newbie is also pretty intimidating with all there is to learn. So it's nice to be able to break down walls and do a little mentoring along the way." -Barrett Clark, Guide

"For me, being a Guide is one of the most rewarding ways to be involved in the Ruby community. Attending one of your first tech conferences can be really intimidating without a built-in support system, especially when the conference content feels like information overload. As a Guide, you get to help take the stress out of your Scholar's conference experience, shape their perception about our community, and provide a friendly face in a sea of strangers. What could be a better gig?
" -Megan Tiu, Guide

Guide applications will be accepted until 11:59pm CST on February 27, 2019 (Please note TIMEZONE).